The “La Voz Del Exterior Scholarship Program” provides financial support and a host-institution where students spend 1 to 3 months living and working at clinical and/or research institutions in the US, Europe, and in Buenos Aires.

All those who have experienced studying and/or working abroad would agree that the benefits are enormous. When one has the opportunity, to study abroad, at a young and impressionable age, the impact, both professionally and personally is nothing short of life-changing.
The Institute for the International Education of Students (IES), surveyed former IES students who studied abroad between 1950 and 1999. Regardless of where students studied and for how long, the vast majority of the 3,400 respondents considered the experience to be a defining moment in their lives that continued to impact them for many years afterwards, both on a professional and a personal level (www.iesabroad.com).
The survey found that those who studied abroad gained important “life skills” such as Personal growth, Intercultural development, Long-lasting friendships and Education and Career attainment. Below is a summary of some of the findings from the survey:

When asked about personal growth, the vast majority of students said studying abroad served as a catalyst for increased maturity, increased self-confidence, and said that it enabled them to tolerate ambiguity, and that it has had a lasting impact on their world view. One student put it this way “Overall, I learned a lot more about myself in that one semester than I did in the three and a half years in my home school because of the unique space in which I learned, experienced, and spent exploring another culture”.

When questioned about intercultural development, the vast majority of respondents said that their experience abroad “helped them to better understand their own cultural values and biases”, and that the experience “contributed to their developing a more sophisticated way of looking at the world”.
In the words of one respondent “The experience of living and studying in another country was so eye-opening … [it] tested preconceptions and habits I wasn’t even aware were so ingrained in me”.
It is significant to note that these intercultural benefits continue to impact participants’ lives long after their time abroad. Almost all of the respondents reported that the experience “continues to influence interactions with people from different cultures”, leading them to “seek out a greater diversity of friends”, and has caused them to “explore other cultures”.
One respondent wrote “It has been nearly ten years since I was abroad, but not a single day goes by where its impact is not felt in my life.” “My time studying in another country fundamentally changed how I view the world and has given me the ability to view the world, and its issues, from several perspectives.”

Several respondents commented that their experience abroad led to long-lasting friendships with other exchange students they met abroad and with friends they made in their host-country.
One, who is still very close to friends she met in the US ten years ago, explains, “I think the shared experience of living fully immersed in another culture made these friendships particularly poignant and enduring.”

“My semester [abroad] launched me into a personal and professional involvement with Spain that has already lasted 25 years. A political science lecture in Madrid about U.S. and Spanish involvement in an obscure war in Sahara … led to a graduate fellowship to Spain and North Africa, which led to work as a foreign correspondent based in Spain,” says Gary Abramson
(IES Madrid, 1978, www.iesabroad.org/madrid/madrid.html).
When questioned about educational pursuits, many respondents said that their experience abroad influenced subsequent academic experiences, giving examples of how it influenced their decision to “expand or change academic majors”, and “attend graduate school”. Nearly half of the respondents have engaged in international work or volunteerism since studying abroad and three-quarters said that they “acquired skill sets abroad that influenced their career path”.
In addition to all these aspects of personal enrichment in their answer’s respondents, indicated that their experiences abroad hap provided them with many job skills that they continue to apply every day in their professional lives like, Global understanding,
Adaptability, Tolerance, Leadership, and Independence. In today’s global society these personal and professional life skills are more important than ever.

Bibliography

From: “The Benefits of Study Abroad New Study Confirms Significant Gains” MM Dwyer, and CK Peters. At: http://www2.clarku.edu/offices/studyabroad/pdfs/IES%20Study.pdf
Also see:
“On the Cognitive Benefits of Cultural Experience: Exploring the Relationship between Studying Abroad and Creative Thinking” Christine S. Lee, et al., Applied Cognitive Psychology, Appl. Cognit. Psychol. (2012)
“10 Benefits to Studying Abroad” At: https://www.internationalstudent.com/study-abroad/guide/ten-benefits-to-studying-abroad/
“25 Reasons to Study Abroad” At: https://www.topuniversities.com/blog/25-reasons-study-abroad
“The Benefits of Studying Abroad” At: https://www.educations.com/articles-and-advice/benefits-of-studying-abroad-14152
“10 benefits of studying abroad” At: https://www.ofx.com/en-au/blog/study-abroad-benefits/
“Benefits of Studying Abroad” At: https://studyabroad.ncsu.edu/benefits-of-studying-abroad/
“Benefits of Studying Abroad” At: https://studylink.com/articles/benefits-of-studying-abroad/